Some drug-sniffing dogs in Washington state now trained to ignore marijuana because it's legal

SEATTLE – The state patrol and some other police agencies in Washington state are now training drug-sniffing dogs to ignore marijuana.

After voters in November legalized the possession of small amounts of the drug, the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys advised police agencies to change their standards.

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KOMO reports (http://bit.ly/ZBwRdy ) marijuana was removed from the police dog guidelines set by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

The prosecuting attorneys' association also told police that an "alert" from a drug-sniffing dog that had been trained to find marijuana is no longer enough evidence for a search warrant. Police will need other evidence, at least until the old dogs retire.